As I wrote about previously, I am reading a great book right now called “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan. He retells the story of the parable of the sower from Luke 8. He then makes this statement that for me cut to my heart:

“I think that most American churchgoers are the soil that chokes  the seed because of all the thorns. Thorns are anything that distracts us from God. When we want God and a bunch of other stuff, then that means we have thorns in our soil. A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions, or commitments are piled on top of it.”

Chan makes a great observation here! We need to be living a life that shows the world that there is something different about us.